Your child is sent home from school with a sore throat, cough, and
high fever — could it be the flu that's been going around? Or just a common cold? Although the flu (or influenza)
usually causes symptoms that make someone feel worse than symptoms
associated with a common cold, it's not always easy to tell the
difference between the two.

Symptoms Guide

The answers to these questions can help determine whether a child is fighting the flu or combating a cold:

Flu vs. Colds: A Guide to Symptoms

Questions

Flu

Cold

Was the onset of illness ...

sudden?

slow?

Does your child have a ...

high fever?

no (or mild) fever?

Is your child's exhaustion level ...

severe?

mild?

Is your child's head ...

achy?

headache-free?

Is your child's appetite ...

decreased?

normal?

Are your child's muscles ...

achy?

fine?

Does your child have ...

chills?

no chills?

If most of your answers fell into the first category, chances are
that your child has the flu. If your answers were usually in the second
category, it's most likely a cold.But don't be too quick to brush off your child's illness as just
another cold. The important thing to remember is that flu symptoms can
vary from child to child (and they can change as the illness
progresses), so if you suspect the flu, call the doctor. Even doctors
often need a test to tell them for sure if a person has the flu or not
since the symptoms can be so similar!

Some bacterial diseases, like strep throat or pneumonia, also can
look like the flu or a cold. It's important to get medical attention
immediately if your child seems to be getting worse, is having any
trouble breathing, has a high fever, has a bad headache, has a sore
throat, or seems confused. While even healthy kids can have complications of the flu, kids with
certain medical conditions are at more of a risk. If you think your
child might have the flu, contact your doctor.

Treatment

Some kids with chronic medical conditions may become sicker with the
flu and need to be hospitalized, and flu in an infant also can be
dangerous. For severely ill kids or those with other special
circumstances, doctors may prescribe an antiviral medicine that can ease
flu symptoms, but only if it's given within 48 hours of the onset of
the flu. Most of the time, you can care for your child by offering plenty of fluids, rest, and extra comfort. And if the doctor says it's not the flu? Ask whether your child should get a flu shot.

Yersiniosis is a relatively uncommon infection contracted through the
consumption of undercooked meat products (especially pork),
unpasteurized milk, or contaminated water. Usually, someone with an infection caused by Yersinia bacteria recovers within a few days without medical treatment (in some cases, doctors prescribe antibiotics).

About Yersiniosis

Of the three main types of yersiniosis that affect people, Yersinia enterocolitica
(bacteria that thrive in cooler temperatures) are responsible for most
infections in the United States. The infection seems to be more common
in cooler climates. The bacteria can infect the digestive tracts of humans, cats, dogs,
pigs, cattle, and goats. People can contract it by eating or handling
contaminated foods (such as raw or undercooked meat) or by drinking
untreated water or unpasteurized milk that contain the bacteria. An infant can be infected if a parent or caretaker handles
contaminated food without cleaning up adequately before handling the
baby's toys, bottles, or pacifiers.

Signs and Symptoms

Symptoms of yersiniosis appear 4-7 days after exposure and can last up to 3 weeks. They include fever, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. Sometimes, older kids also get pain in the lower right side of the abdomen, which can mimic appendicitis. Some people also have a sore throat along with other symptoms. If your child has these symptoms, call your doctor. For infants, it's
particularly important to call the doctor as soon as symptoms appear to
prevent the infection from leading to other health problems.

In rare cases, the infection can cause a skin rash called erythema nodosum,
or joint pain that appears a month after the initial symptoms. The rash
usually occurs on the legs and trunk. The joint pain is usually in the
larger joints and is thought to be due to an immune system response.
These symptoms typically go away with time but can last several months. The diagnosis of Yersinia can be confirmed with a stool culture. If the Yersinia infection leads to an infection of the blood, known as bacteremia, it can be confirmed with a blood culture.

Treatment

Diarrhea caused by yersiniosis generally goes away on its own, though
in some cases antibiotics are prescribed. In infants, however —
particularly those who are 3 months old or younger — it can develop into
bacteremia. Infants who contract yersiniosis are usually treated in a
hospital. Depending on the severity of the diarrhea, your doctor may suggest
modifying your child's diet for 1 or 2 days and encouraging your child
to drink more fluids (which may include drinks with electrolytes to
replace body fluids quickly). If your child has frequent bouts of diarrhea, watch for signs of dehydration, including:

Typhoid fever is a serious and sometimes life-threatening infection
that mostly affects people in developing countries, where clean water
and other sanitation measures are hard to come by. The disease usually
causes symptoms that include a high fever, a stomachache, and achiness.
It can be cured with antibiotics.

If you live in the U.S. the chances of someone in your family getting
typhoid fever are slim. But if you're planning to travel to a foreign
country, especially one in the tropics, it's a good idea to know about
typhoid fever. Before you travel, get vaccinated against the disease and
learn about safety precautions regarding food and water.

About Typhoid Fever

Typhoid fever is caused by bacteria called Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi), which are related to the bacteria salmonella that cause food poisoning. S. Typhi typically live in humans and are shed through a person's feces (poop) or urine (pee). Once the bacteria get into the body, they quickly multiply and spread
into the bloodstream. The body responds with a high fever and other
symptoms, usually a week or two after exposure to the bacteria (but
sometimes later). Symptoms can be mild to severe and usually disappear 2
to 5 days after antibiotic treatment begins.

Without treatment, typhoid fever may last a month or more and become very serious, even life-threatening. After recovering from typhoid fever, some people still can become
carriers of the bacteria. This means that they'll have no symptoms, but
do have the bacteria in their bodies and can pass it on to other people.

How People Get It

People usually get typhoid fever by drinking beverages or eating food
that has been handled by someone who has typhoid fever or is a carrier
of the illness. Those infected also can pass the disease onto others
directly (for example, by touching them with unwashed hands). People
also get the illness by drinking water that is contaminated by sewage
that contains the S. Typhi bacteria. For these reasons, the disease is common in areas with poor
sanitation and inadequate water treatment. It is also common in tropical
and subtropical areas around the world, including Africa, Asia, and
Latin America.

Signs & Symptoms

The symptoms of typhoid fever may range from mild to severe,
depending on factors such as the age, health, and vaccination history of
the infected person and the geographic location where the infection
originated. Typhoid fever can come on suddenly or very gradually over a few weeks. Early signs and symptoms of the illness include:

fever that can reach as high as 104°F (40°C)

feeling achy, tired, or weak

constipation

diarrhea

headache

stomach pain and loss of appetite

sore throat

When typhoid fever isn't untreated, symptoms become worse week by
week. Besides a fever, someone may lose weight; develop a swollen or
bloated belly; or develop or a red, spotted rash on the lower chest or
upper belly. The rash usually clears up in 2 to 5 days. In most cases, the symptoms of typhoid fever start to go away in the
third and fourth weeks, as long as the disease doesn't cause any other
health problems. After the illness has appeared to go away, it can come
back.

Complications

Serious health problems (complications) as a result of typhoid fever
are rare in children. When kids do develop complications, they tend to
be gastrointestinal problems, specifically an intestinal perforation (a
hole in the intestines). This is life-threatening condition that
requires immediate medical attention. Less common complications include problems with the lungs or heart,
infections in the bones or joints, urinary tract infections, or mental
health problems.

When to Call a Doctor

Call a doctor if you think your child has been exposed to typhoid
fever or develops any symptoms of typhoid fever, even mild ones,
especially after visiting an area where the infection is common. To make a diagnosis, the doctor will evaluate the symptoms and ask
you about your child's medical history and recent travels. The doctor
probably will take a sample of stool (poop), urine (pee), or blood to
test it for the disease.

Treatment

Typhoid fever is treated with antibiotics that kill S. Typhi bacteria. If
the doctor prescribes antibiotics, be sure your child completes the
course of treatment. Do not end the treatment early even if your child
begins to feel better. Most kids start feeling better within 2 to 3 days of beginning
treatment. In addition to giving antibiotics, offer your child plenty of
fluids to prevent dehydration. Kids who are severely dehydrated from a
loss of fluids due to diarrhea might be given IV (intravenous) fluids in
a hospital or other medical care facility. Acetaminophen can help reduce fever and make your child feel more
comfortable. Call a doctor immediately if your child's symptoms persist,
if symptoms go away and then reappear, or if your child develops any
new symptoms.

Tapeworms are flat worms that live in a person's digestive tract.
Though upsetting to think about, they usually don't cause any serious
problems. Tapeworm infections aren't common in the United States and, when they do happen, they're usually easy to treat.

Tapeworm Basics

Tapeworms are parasites. As you probably remember from biology class,
parasites are organisms that live in, or on, other organisms (called
"hosts"). Parasites take their nutrients from the host, sometimes
depriving the host of nutrition.

Tapeworms get into the body when someone eats or drinks something
that's infected with a worm or its eggs. Once inside the body, the
tapeworm head attaches to the inner wall of the intestines. The tapeworm
feeds off the food that the host is digesting. It uses this nutrition
to grow. Tapeworms are made up of segments, and they get longer by growing new
segments. Each segment can reproduce by making thousands of eggs. Since
tapeworms can have more than a thousand segments, that's a lot of
opportunity to spread. They can grow to more than 33 feet (10 meters)
and live as long as 25 years.

New segments grow at the head of the tapeworm, pushing older segments
to the end of the line, where they break off. These segments, along
with the eggs they contain, pass out of the digestive tract in the
host's feces (poop). If the infected feces aren't disposed of in a
sanitary way — like down a flush toilet — they can get into the soil or
water. Tapeworm segments can live for months in the environment, waiting for
a host to come along. Animals like cows or pigs that eat grass or nose
around in the soil can pick up tapeworm segments or eggs. When the
tapeworm reaches the animal's intestine, the attach-and-grow cycle
begins again.

Causes

Most of the time, people get tapeworm infections from eating food that's contaminated and not prepared properly:

Tapeworms can spread when someone eats or drinks food or water
that's contaminated with infected feces. This is one reason why tapeworm
infections are rare in places that have good sanitation, like the
United States. Flush toilets, sewer systems, and water treatment plants
help keep feces out of the water and food supply.

People can pass tapeworm eggs on to others when they don't wash
their hands after using the bathroom. Tapeworm eggs in feces can easily
spread into food or onto surfaces like doorknobs. If you ever need
another reason to get your kids to wash their hands, this might do it!

Kids can get tapeworms from eating meat or fish that hasn't been cooked enough to kill the tapeworm or its eggs.

Symptoms

Most kids who have a tapeworm infection don't feel anything. It can
take months or years to notice any symptoms. Some of the things a child
might complain of are:

mild nausea

diarrhea

abdominal pain

loss of appetite and weight loss

Kids with a tapeworm infection may feel a piece of the worm coming
out through the anus. If your child has an infection, you may see a
tapeworm segment in his or her feces. There are different types of tapeworms. One (fish tapeworm) can cause
anemia because it absorbs vitamin B12, which helps make red blood
cells. This can lead kids to feel tired, short of breath, or have other symptoms of anemia.

The eggs of another type of tapeworm (pork tapeworm) can hatch into
larvae in the intestine. These larvae go through the intestinal wall and
enter the bloodstream. From there they can travel to different parts of
the body (such as muscles, eyes, or the brain), where they form cysts.
This disease is known as cysticercosis. It is rare in the United States, but common in many developing countries. With cysticercosis, kids might develop:

lumps under the skin

seizures, if the cysts are in the brain

vision problems, if the cysts are in the eyes

an abnormal heartbeat, if cysts are in the heart

weakness or trouble walking, if cysts are in the spine

Eating contaminated pork can lead to a tapeworm infection in the
intestines, but it won't turn into cysticercosis. To develop
cysticercosis, someone would have to swallow the eggs of the pork
tapeworm, and these eggs aren't found in the meat itself. They are found
in feces and around the anus.

Cysticercosis occurs as a result of eating food that has been
contaminated with feces. It can be any kind of food — all it takes is
for that food to come into contact with feces.

When to Call a Doctor

Call a doctor if you see worms in your child's feces or if he or she
has abdominal pain or other symptoms that might suggest a tapeworm
infection. You'll also want to call a doctor if your child shows signs
of infection after traveling to a part of the world that doesn't have
good sanitation. Call a doctor right away if your child has masses or lumps under the
skin and develops a fever, headache, or any of the other symptoms of
cysticercosis. If your child has seizures or trouble moving, walking, or
talking, go to the emergency room right away.